Cloth caps are commonly worn and used by people in all types of industries and business. After these caps have been used for a while they usually become dirty or soiled and must be laundered. Although the caps can be hand washed or machine laundered to remove dirt and grime, they usually shrink or wrinkle badly upon drying. Such caps also normally include cardboard stays in the visors or crown portions which help the caps to hold their desired shape when they are new. After the cap is laundered, however, these types of stays wrinkle and cause the cap to take on an undesirable shape.
Although various types of drying racks have been known for supporting other types of articles while they are drying after being laundered, a simple and practical means for supporting a cap for drying after being laundered has not previously been provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,256 describes a rigid drying insert for caps which have been laundered. However, such device has a number of drawbacks and disadvantages. For example, such device is not adjustable in size. Accordingly, one of such devices may only accommodate caps which are very close to the size of the insert. Although many caps themselves are adjustable in size, baseball caps and better quality caps are not adjustable in size. Consequently, several separate inserts would have to be manufactured to accommodate several different sizes of caps.
Also, the device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,256 has rounded or curved dome arches. However, some caps are produced with a flat crown (e.g., winter caps and hunting caps). Consequently, such types of caps would not be properly supported for drying by the device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,256, and wrinkling or shrinking of the top of the cap would result. Further, a cap may slip upwardly on the insert while drying if it shrinks too much.
Also, the device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,256 includes a flat bill or visor support portion to which the bill or visor of a cap is to be clipped or secured for drying. The patent also describes the use of a separate flat visor plate, with the visor of the cap being sandwiched between the plate and the flat bill portion to hold the cap visor in a flattened condition for drying. As another alternative, the visor of the cap can be secured to the flat bill portion by means of rubber bands during drying. This procedure adds additional complexity and cost to the drying procedure.
For the foregoing reasons, the insert device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,256 has limited utility and is not considered to be practical for use in drying laundered caps.